HPU - Richardson Valley

[mathgrant]

In spite of the fact that he had been sleeping with the Dewitts, as was the case every night, and had their warm human bodies with which to cuddle, the previous night's severe thunderstorm watch and its threat of tornadoes caused Brian to be too tense to fall asleep until very late. When the Dewitts got out of bed that morning, he remained sound asleep until almost 12:30 PM. As he woke up, Brian stretched his legs and yawned before padding out the bedroom door into the kitchen, where a bowl of his dog food had been waiting for him since Mrs. Dewitt had filled it a few minutes after having gotten up. "It's about time you got up, sleepyhead!" Mrs. Dewitt said when she saw him, laughing.

"Hi, Mom," he replied. "I don't know how I managed to get any sleep last night, after all that worry about the weather. . ."

"Well, I have good news, Brian," Mrs. Dewitt said. "I've noticed you're getting low on food, so how about after you eat, we'll go to the pet store and buy you some more food, and maybe you can socialize while you're there? That ought to get your mind off of things."

Brian wagged his tail rapidly. "That sounds excellent! I didn't want to go outside in this sweltering heat, but if I ride in the air-conditioned car, I won't have to!"

When they arrived at the store, Brian saw a Scottish terrier he recognized from earlier. "O'Connor!" he shouted.

[Dylan]

Djinn scrambled up the stairs, bursting into Pyxis' room, and just happened to land right on top of Pyxis. Ack! Djinn? where have you been? are you trying to kill me? Pyxis got up and dusted himself off. Ah, well...I'm hungry, i'm going to eat something. Pyxis started walking to the door, making Djinn's eye widen and jump onto Pyxis again. pfft, Djinn! I have no time for these games! I'm hungry and I'm looking forward to some fish...or maybe some pasta. Djinn was about to object when Pyxis shoved his foot onto Djinn's face trying to get Djinn off his leg. hey...ow, you're just like superglue today. Pyxis started to drag himself to the door, outmatching Djinn's strength with his own. Djinn, I'm serious, I just played battleship with you last night, no more games for now! he crawled outside his room door and slowly shook Djinn off his leg, we can do something after I eat...got it? Pyxis sniffed the air, something smells sweet.


Amelia paced back and forth, the cake hasn't been iced yet and Pyxis could be down at any moment, she quickened her paws and started grabbing random icing, decorating the cake with almost no clue what she was doing and fumbling the bottle in her hands. uh...this doesn't look right...I can fix that...oops! maybe like this?....rats! the steps were getting closer down the stairs, and were just outside the kitchen door.

[caelei]

Christopher cares a great deal about us pets, an you should be wearing a shock collar. after all you lied to me when you said that you would go home, an instead you went on the foolish animal control raid! setting all those bad an feral pets free. an freaking out the humans to violence. You got off very lightly..

An i asked him why you didn't get collared, since i was jealous that you didn't get collared with the rest of the class. he said that he didn't want to give your dad an unfair advantage over you..

Pavelle stared at Rav with her mouth slightly open in shock. She couldn't believe it. He was trying to pin her with having all the blame! When it wasn't even her fault! Maybe it was the heat getting to her head, but suddenly, she was VERY irritable. "You listen here, Rav," she snapped, tone dark, eyes flashing, "Just because I wasn't the most truthful to you doesn't mean that I should get a SHOCK COLLAR. You're not a human! Maybe lying to my owners, on multiple occasions, would warrant such a severe punishment, but I hold no obligations to you, other than my friendship. You can't control me. It doesn't work that way." She glowered at him, her hands shaking a little. "And you're just proving my point that Christopher doesn't care what we pets truly think! Maybe he cares what we feel... but not our actual thoughts. Like every other human I've ever met --save for Sara-- he doesn't acknowledge those. I thought I wasn't wearing a shock collar because he trusted me; he even told me that it was because I was "motivated", because I was "dedicated" that I didn't have to wear it. But now you're telling me he lied about all that, and discussed the real matters with you behind my back? Yeah, sure makes me feel like sitting up and playing obediant for him in that school, doesn't it?" She rolled her eyes angrily. "Oh, and I didn't truly involve myself in anything that night at the Animal Control Center, Ravage. I didn't even enter the building. Neither did Felix, and of course not Magnus. So don't blame me for things I never did."

you all go on, i'll catch up in a minute, when i've calmed down to a point that i'm not going to bite someone.

Pavelle didn't hesitate before storming off down the street and away from the GSD, not really paying attention to what she was doing as she chucked papers at the last couple of houses. One of them hit the door so hard that it made a decent *THUD*, but she ignored it and continued walking after her paper bag was empty, panting in frustration at Rav and the heat, her tail swishing forward and back in anger.

((Sorry for the drama... but Pavelle's hot and tired and... whatever. :/ ))

[Teh Brawler]

Tory watched the scene unfold, and flew towards Pavelle. He landed on her shoulder, and nuzzled her neck with her beak, saying, "Don't be mad, Ms. Pavelle. Rav didn't mean anything by it." He really wanted to help Pavelle.

[Kalvin]

Mai cocked her head, confused. Balbaroy didn't even know where he was. Well, he at least has to know if it was fun.
Well, was it fun? What did they do with you there?

Alex stood up, and started walking around in circles, thinking about what to do. It was really too hot for any clothes. Well, except those white robes they wear in Arabia. It should even make it less hot for him outside. But that was out of the question. Besides, his face would be uncovered with that, so people would still notice that he's pink.
Clearly, there's only one thing I can do, and that's stay inside! Wanna... uh... play some? I can go get the instruments. - he said, in an attempt to change the topic. Making music is gonna make him temporary forget about his problem, too.

Balbaroy put his hand on his chin and pondered for a second. "Hm.... It's hard to say. They asked me alot of questions and they were pretty nice. But... *sniff sniff* What's that smell?"

--------------------

Lucky smiled as Alex began to try and take his mind off of it. "Okay, sure. Sounds fun."

[Buckdida]

Venison held his tongue and stood awkwardly next to Blood as Rav more or less began to pout, and Pavelle stormed off to deliver the last few of the papers. Rav's first point was fair enough, so Venison stayed quiet, slightly disarmed though Rav's second and third comments, though they certainly didn't sit well with Venison...and to further things, saying something now about the second point would only make matters entirely worse, especially after Pavelle exploding. As Venison decided to debate shock collars with the two later, he felt a sudden push off the top of his head! Had he really forgotten that Tory was sitting there? He took a moment, and closed his eyes to meditate a bit.
'...that's no good. I can't be letting myself miss or forget details like that...and...was Pavelle at the animal control assault or not? I didn't see her, but...ah, I'll ask later... Now, what to do about the two of these angry friends of mine...'
Rav had his back turned, sitting down on the walk. Pavelle would be distracted by Cinnamon. Blood...well, right now he didn't care about Blood all that much, but he was standing next to Ven, so Ven didn't have to worry about him getting caught in the crossfire.

Venison dipped his hands in the back of the cooler. Normally, there would be no way he'd be caught acting like this. But then again, these were his friends, and such people always seemed to change Ven's personality in strange ways.

Usually good ways. But this is the first time in ages that Venison would act...slightly silly.

"Oh, cool off you two!" Venison pushed his hands forward, sweeping the the water up, out, and across the air, some chunks of ice flying along with it. Headed right. For. Rav an' Pav! (And I suppose Tory as well!)

[Alex]

Alex went to the basement and returned carrying two guitars, and an amp. He handed one to Lucky, and took one in his arms, sitting on a chair in the living room.
Let's have a showdown!
Alex moved his fingers through the strings, playing the intro of "Ain't Talking 'bout Love" by Van Halen, waiting for Lucky to "strike back". The winner's gonna be the one who plays the most awesome sounding solo on the guitar, and Alex had quite a few ready after this one.

Mai sniffed the air. Her nose wasn't as sensitive as Balbaroy's, who was a dog, so she didn't really smell much.
Erh.... what do you mean? I don't smell anything....

[ArgentFlame]

Sean chuckled along with Matt. "I slept fine." His stomach growled as he got up from the bed. "So, what do we have for breakfast?"
_______________________________________________________________________

Cier hugged Rachel back briefly. "Hey Rachel, the Impala was finished. Not sure if dad's going to keep or sell it yet." He looked towards the counter. "Want anything, we were just about to go up and order." Kellie smiled at Rachel. "Hi Rachel, how are you today?"

[Laxan]

Sal' folded her arms and pouted at Pepper, "Fine." She snapped, standing up and wiping the tears from her eyes. She knocked on the door and then opened it slightly before entering inside. "Hey Alex. Sorry about before. I didn't mean to make you sad." Seeing the instruments in Alex's hands she waved. "I'll leave you to your toys. Buh-bye." With that she walked out, closing the door behind her.

[FILLING IN FOR KAIDO]

Pepper sighed. "You'll learn you can't just go around and do what you want you know. You have to think about peoples feelings."

Sal' completely ignored him and tugged on his arm. "Pep! Pep! Can we go to the wall! Pretty pretty please!?" She begged, continously tugging his arm in the direction off the wall.

Pepper sighed and thought about the way he looked, he really didn't want to be seen in public with his fur like this. His next idea was to go home and take a bath, perhaps a soak will help loosen the knots. "I'm gonna go home and take a bath. I might meet you at the wall late-".

Sal' had already ran off. "Okay! I'll see you there."

Pepper called out to Sal' "I SAID MIGHT!... You... dumb dog." He smiled slightly, his sister's antics ammused him, not matter how much she annoyed him. With that he snuck out down the sidestreets home to take a long bath. [We can leave Pepper there until Kaido comes back]

Sal' ran to the wall as fast as she could, getting there she burst open the door, looking for O'Connor... he wasn't there yet. Looking around she didn't spot a pet she knew, or if there was one, she didn't see them (Per-3). She got a milkshake and sat at a table in the corner alone, sipping at the milkshake through a crazy straw.

[Missingo]

Matt put his violin away in its case, before turning back and facing Sean, grinning. "Ah, sorry, I guess I didn't get you enough food last night... so, how do pancakes sound?" he suggested.~

"Ah, cool, I'll have to see it later," Rachel said, feeling a bit of pride swell up in her in the knowledge that she had helped restore the vehicle. She looked at the menu when Cier offered to get her something, considering between a smoothie or an iced latte... "Yeah, I need something cold..." she reached in her collar and pulled out her wallet and took a five dollar bill from it, handing it to Cier. "I guess I'll get a strawberry smoothie, uh, whatever the biggest size is. Thanks, and you can keep the change," she said, beaming at him. "And it's hot, this coat isn't really helping me any," she said to Kellie, running her paw through a bit of her fur, pulling out a tuft of loose fur for emphasis. "Gah, this is going to make me shed like crazy... I guess I shouldn't really be inside, but it's preferable to death by fire, you know?" she grinned, dropping the fur in a nearby trash can and looking down, a bit embarrassed.

[Teh Brawler]

O'Connor looked up from the collars at his name being called, and smiled at Brian. "Lahd!" he called, walking over to him. "'aow's luife bein fur ye?"

((BLARGH CRAP POST))

[Keeshah]

Venison dipped his hands in the back of the cooler. Normally, there would be no way he'd be caught acting like this. But then again, these were his friends, and such people always seemed to change Ven's personality in strange ways.

Usually good ways. But this is the first time in ages that Venison would act...slightly silly.

"Oh, cool off you two!" Venison pushed his hands forward, sweeping the the water up, out, and across the air, some chunks of ice flying along with it. Headed right. For. Rav an' Pav! (And I suppose Tory as well!)

Rav was about to retort how the newspapers lead story was raccoons in on attack at the animal control building, when a wave of ice cold wet soaked into the fur of his back, an ice cubes raining down upon his head..
GAaaaahh!
Rav startles upright stiffly Hay Dats COLD!!

Rav turns about sharply, his claws out.. when his jaw hits the ground when he sees it's Venison's paws that are now dripping wet.
Guh Guh Guh??
He shudders, in shock an dismay..
That can't be what just happened, despite the evidence. Venison never acts like a pet, let alone pull a puppy prank like that..

Rav shakes out his moistened fur... an starts laughing all crazy like, an he bolts at Venison.
Ha Haa Haa I'm going to tickle you til you pee! MuuHaaaa!!!

[D-Singer]

Blood simply stood back and listened to the pets converse. From what they described, it sounded like this neighborhood had more than its share of problems. The topic of shock collars involved with obedience training irked him slightly, but he didn’t show it. The name ‘Christopher’ rang a bell in his mind, Probably the same pet ranger he met two weeks back who has asked him to identify the AC officers that darted him.

Blood ended up getting caught up in his thoughts, but snapped back to attention when Rav decided to charge at the dog standing next to him. His eyes widened, and he quickly stepped out of the way, hoping to god that his nonexistent luck wouldn’t drag him into this...

[caelei]

"Don't be mad, Ms. Pavelle. Rav didn't mean anything by it."

Pavelle quit walking and looked over at Tory, not being able to stop the burst of affection she felt for him as he tried to help solve the problem. She took a deep breath and let it out, and then nodded slowly. Anger wouldn't help things... even if all Rav thought she was good for was lying, and had wished a shock collar upon her. Her tail stopped flicking in irritation, and she slowly untensed. "Thanks, Tory." She tried to give him a smile, but right as she started to form the expression, something wet and cold hit her from behind. She spun belatedly, stepping to the side, the water dripping from her fur to the ground. An expression of extreme shock was written on her face. Whoever had done that was going to pay... what if there had been papers in her bag still? They would have gotten wet, and then her customers would've complained... her eyes immediately turned to Rav, thinking that he had thrown the water at her in anger. But then she saw that Rav was wet as well, and that Venison was standing next to the cooler. She was momentarily confused, as the thought of Venison throwing water on her didn't compute. Then it registered as Rav started laughing and ran to tackle Venison. Venison...? For a second, she wasn't sure what she was feeling as too many emotions (her dwindling anger from before, her shock from the cold and her shock at the culprit, and a strange happiness) battled through her. And then a small, bemused smile registered on her face. She suddenly remembered Tory, and looked down at him, asking, "Did you get wet?" Her tone was lighter than it had been... Venison's diversion had averted the problem. At least for now; she'd probably end up brooding on it later.

[Kalvin]

Lucky thinks for a second, causing a dramatic pause. He stands with his feet wide apart, guitar across his shoulder before darting his fingers up and down quickly, playing Prelude from Lute Suite 4 in E minor. It's hardly recognizable as a classical song as Lucky brings it to electric guitar, wailing and jamming. ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPfZVflJdp0 )

--------------------

Balbaroy kept sniffing the air, raising an eyebrow. "I think... nevermind. It's gone. What were you saying?"

[Alex]

Alex stopped playing, listening to Lucky now. Darn it. Finger picking was always amazing, and although the piece he played wasn't really too fast, it was still better than what Alex did. There had to be something done against it. A couple of seconds before the end of Lucky's song, Alex placed his small finger on the fourth fret on the G string, and counted with this masterpiece.
-------------------------
Mai was confused now. She had no idea what they were talking about earlier. She cocked her head, and looked at Balbaroy, before smiling.
Want to play at the swing we made a couple of weeks ago? It's fun!

[mathgrant]

O'Connor looked up from the collars at his name being called, and smiled at Brian. "Lahd!" he called, walking over to him. "'aow's luife bein fur ye?"

((BLARGH CRAP POST))

Brian ran up to O'Connor and hugged him, his tail wagging. "I'd say life's been pretty good," Brian said. "I wasn't planning on leaving the house in 110-degree weather, but we were running low on food at home, so Mom brought me here in her air-conditioned car. I'm so glad she did -- I wouldn't have gotten to see you otherwise!"

((In my book, acknowledging Brian's existence is never a crap post.))

[Teh Brawler]

Tory tried to look up at Caelei, but his eyes were blocked by the wet mass of feathers covering him. "gurgle gug gurg," he said, spitting out water. "Pthhhhhhh, *cough*, yeah, just a little." He shook off, as birds do, and began preening himself. "Did Rav do that? Beefcake doesn't seem like he would."

-------------------------

O'Connor's smile only got wider at Brian's excitement. "Aye, 'tis rathere 'awt. Bu' whuy wuld ye goe tu the pe' store fur fud?"

[caelei]

"Pthhhhhhh, *cough*, yeah, just a little." He shook off, as birds do, and began preening himself. "Did Rav do that? Beefcake doesn't seem like he would."

Pavelle closed her eyes when Tory shook the water off him, light splatters of it spraying onto her neck, shoulder, and face. Afterwards, she rubbed her eyes and reopened them, then smiled at looked down at Tory. "Actually... I think Beefcake, erm. Venison. I think VENISON did it." She corrected herself after accidentally using Tory and O'Connor's nickname for Ven.

[Buckdida]

With Rav charging at him, Venison's battle instincts kicked in. 'Charge attack, followed by a grapple, enemy strength is much higher, enemy is not serious...course of action...dodge! Attack direction: front to back, obstacle, right, Blood, obstacle, left, cooler...' Venison attempted to get away by vaulting over the cooler, but the weight of the cooler was far lighter than Ven had anticipated, due to him knocking the water out of it earlier. It tipped over towards Ven.
"Gah!" The water in the cooler washed over him, Blood, and spread slippery ice across the sidewalk right into Rav's path.

[Keeshah]

"Gah!" The water in the cooler washed over him, Blood, and spread slippery ice across the sidewalk right into Rav's path.

Rav charges up, as Venison an the cooler go spilling over backwards, in an ice water tsunami wave.
he skitters across the ice cube land mines to pounce upon the prone, soaked coydog, with the stars circling his head.
Hey are you ok? that looked like a nasty fall you took there...

Rav looks up at Blood,
Ummm I hope you got enough water to drink, before you got to wear it!..

[mathgrant]

O'Connor's smile only got wider at Brian's excitement. "Aye, 'tis rathere 'awt. Bu' whuy wuld ye goe tu the pe' store fur fud?"

Brian shrugged; he was a bit surprised by this question. "Because they sell pet food here?" Brian said. "And because I like it? I mean, not that I don't enjoy other kinds of food -- that muffin, or at least the half that I ate, at The Wall was wonderful!" Brian smiled, but then suddenly started missing Amelia. She's such a friendly cat, he thought to himself. Alex is so lucky to have her. I wish I were so lucky. . . He tried to hold back tears as he recalled how Amelia had selflessly shared her muffin, and how he had developed a crush on her, but failed.

[Teh Brawler]

Brian shrugged; he was a bit surprised by this question. "Because they sell pet food here?" Brian said. "And because I like it? I mean, not that I don't enjoy other kinds of food -- that muffin, or at least the half that I ate, at The Wall was wonderful!" Brian smiled, but then suddenly started missing Amelia. She's such a friendly cat, he thought to himself. Alex is so lucky to have her. I wish I were so lucky. . . He tried to hold back tears as he recalled how Amelia had selflessly shared her muffin, and how he had developed a crush on her, but failed.

((DEAR HEAVEN MELT MY HEART WHY DONCHA))
"Ah, Ah though' ye meant te othere fuds, luike fruit ahn' sooch." O'Connor smiled at Brian, but suddenly noticed the tears that seemed to be threatening to come out ((O'Connor has Perception 10, remember? )). "Lahd, ye ahruight?" He put his paw on Brian's shoulder, and said, "Le's go tu the woll, ahnd ye cahn teill me wut's goin' ohn."

[ArgentFlame]

Sean grinned and started heading toward the kitchen. "Pancakes sound great. What kind of syrup do we have?"
__________________________________________________________

Cier accepted the money and walked over to the counter. He ordered the smoothie for Rachel, as well as an iced coffee for himself and lemonade for his mother. He walked back over with the drinks on a tray and set it at a table.

Kellie watched Cier walk away and then turned back to Rachel. "That must be a pain." She walked over to the table after Cier returned. She sat down and took a drink of her lemonade.

[caelei]

Pavelle couldn't help but let out a laugh when Venison knocked the cooler over on himself and Blood. She stepped closer to the group, to the edge of the water spill on the ground, making sure not to jostle Tory too much as she walked. "Well, I suppose that's one way to cool yourself down." She smirked at Venison and Rav, the former lying on his back on the ground, the latter pretty much sitting on top of Venison, then looked at Blood. "Hopefully you don't take getting splashed personally... an accident, I'm sure." She didn't want him to be angry about getting wet, though she supposed it wasn't likely he would be. Unless maybe he had a hot temper. But she couldn't assume that about him; it wouldn't be fair. Then she thought about Tory on her shoulder, and how he had seemed frightened of Blood before. She hoped she wasn't making the little red bird uncomfortable by bringing him close to Blood, even if there was really nothing to fear.

[Teh Brawler]

Pavelle couldn't help but let out a laugh when Venison knocked the cooler over on himself and Blood. She stepped closer to the group, to the edge of the water spill on the ground, making sure not to jostle Tory too much as she walked. "Well, I suppose that's one way to cool yourself down." She smirked at Venison and Rav, the former lying on his back on the ground, the latter pretty much sitting on top of Venison, then looked at Blood. "Hopefully you don't take getting splashed personally... an accident, I'm sure." She didn't want him to be angry about getting wet, though she supposed it wasn't likely he would be. Unless maybe he had a hot temper. But she couldn't assume that about him; it wouldn't be fair. Then she thought about Tory on her shoulder, and how he had seemed frightened of Blood before. She hoped she wasn't making the little red bird uncomfortable by bringing him close to Blood, even if there was really nothing to fear.

As Pavelle got closer to the group, Tory looked at Venison, smiling. It was a funny scene to him, seeing Venison on the ground, wet. The smile stopped, however, when he looked up and saw Blood standing there. Petrified out of fear, he stood there, and began to shudder violently, without making any noise.

[mathgrant]

"Ah, Ah though' ye meant te othere fuds, luike fruit ahn' sooch." O'Connor smiled at Brian, but suddenly noticed the tears that seemed to be threatening to come out ((O'Connor has Perception 10, remember? )). "Lahd, ye ahruight?" He put his paw on Brian's shoulder, and said, "Le's go tu the woll, ahnd ye cahn teill me wut's goin' ohn."

Brian smiled at O'Connor's offer. "I'd love to go to The Wall," he said, "but I'm not going to walk there in the heat -- not without, like, a thousand bottles of water, at least. Maybe I'll ask Mom to drive me there when we're done shopping."

[D-Singer]

Blood didn’t expect Venison to make such a sudden escape maneuver, trying to vault over the ice cooler and wagon turned out to be an even worse decision. He gasped at getting doused with ice water, glaring at Ven for the mistake he made after Rav had pretty much landed on him. The soaked coydog choked back his irritation and simply huffed, shaking himself off and giving Rav a twisted looking smile. “I Think I’ve had my fill thank you...” His voice sounded almost scary with sarcasm. Turning to Pavelle, he responded in the same tone of retained annoyance. “Just between us, I normally DON’T enjoy getting doused with ice water..” He shook off again, at least now he wasn’t panting from the heat.

[Kalvin]

Lucky looked stunned and gave a sly smile to Alex. Then while keeping perfect eye contact with him the whole time he begins to play Bouree in E Minor, never taking his eyes off of Alex's.

--------------------

Balbaroy takes the last gulp of his drink before smiling and wagging his tail. "Okay, let's go!" He leads the way out the door and starts to step out the door before doing a heel turn and coming back in. "Okay, it got really hot really fast."

[Alex]

Alex lifted his head and watched Lucky play this new song. Again, it wasn't faster than his, but it was fingerpicking, which makes it harder. He gave Lucky a grin, and once the dog was done, started playing Frozen Flame. If the dog wants fingerpicking, it's what he'll get.

Mai followed Balbaroy, and almost collided with him when he turned around. She had to use him as support to stop herself, but considering his strength, it's nothing for him.
Hot? So do you wanna go or stay here? - she said, confused with what to do.

[Teh Brawler]

Brian smiled at O'Connor's offer. "I'd love to go to The Wall," he said, "but I'm not going to walk there in the heat -- not without, like, a thousand bottles of water, at least. Maybe I'll ask Mom to drive me there when we're done shopping."

"Aye, saoun's gud. Jes' telle meh when yur readeh," O'Connor replied. He had no real reason to be here, and he needed to meet Sal' at the Wall. He decided to continue perusing collars until Brian got his attention again.

[Keeshah]

glaring at Ven for the mistake he made after Rav had pretty much landed on him. The soaked coydog choked back his irritation and simply huffed, shaking himself off and giving Rav a twisted looking smile. “I Think I’ve had my fill thank you...”

Rav looks up from where he has Venison pinned down under him now..
well that is good. otherwise we would have to trek all the way back home to get more..

His voice sounded almost scary with sarcasm. Turning to Pavelle, he responded in the same tone of retained annoyance. “Just between us, I normally DON’T enjoy getting doused with ice water..” He shook off again, at least now he wasn’t panting from the heat.

Well now you do have something in common with Venison, you don't like baths!

[Buckdida]

"Ungh. Rav, get offa me. And don't mention baths, please." Venison tried to squirm out of Rav's grasp, but the GSD's full body weight was on Ven, and it was honestly quite uncomfortable for the Coydog.

“Just between us, I normally DON’T enjoy getting doused with ice water..”

"Same...though, today? It feels somewhat refreshing. Hmm..." Venison thought a moment. "Idea. Occasionally, in the cities, humans will take fake weapons that use water and shoot each other on days like today. Water fights, they call them, I think." Venison looked over to Pavelle. "How many animals around here do you think have water guns? I'd wager quite a few...Rav, would you please get off of me?!"

[caelei]

Pavelle felt her shoulder start to shake a little, and looked down at Tory, immediately noticing his fear. To help ease his fright she took a couple steps back away from the GSD mix, giving Tory some breathing room. She opened her mouth to say that there was nothing to be scared of, that she was sure Blood was a nice dog and wouldn't do anything mean, when the Codyog replied to her earlier statement, his tone biting...

“Just between us, I normally DON’T enjoy getting doused with ice water..”

She had to stop the spark of indignation that she felt at his extremely sarcastic, somewhat sour reply. Jeez. Maybe he did have a short fuse. But it wouldn't due for her to lose her head again and yell at him. Especially since he was bigger and stronger than her, and she didn't feel like having to run fast in this heat if it broke into a fight. She shook her head slightly, letting Rav's and Venison's comments smooth over what Blood had said, and didn't bother with a reply, though she had stopped smiling.

"How many animals around here do you think have water guns? I'd wager quite a few...Rav, would you please get off of me?!"

She thought a moment. "Well, anyone who's lived here for a while would have one; it gets pretty hot here in the summers sometimes, and I believe I've seen pets running around with them in the past. Magnus actually has a couple --I bought him a HUGE one for Christmas the other year-- stashed in the garage, though they may need to be cleaned of dust and dirt. And the new arrivals, depending on where they lived in the past, might have some... water guns are, after all, not an uncommon toy." Venison, joining in a water fight? The idea was funny... he would probably use different tactics, instead of just running around in the open like Magnus did. It would be interesting to see how everything turned out, if they could get the other pets in the neighborhood to join in.

[mathgrant]

Brian smiled at O'Connor's offer. "I'd love to go to The Wall," he said, "but I'm not going to walk there in the heat -- not without, like, a thousand bottles of water, at least. Maybe I'll ask Mom to drive me there when we're done shopping."

"Aye, saoun's gud. Jes' telle meh when yur readeh," O'Connor replied. He had no real reason to be here, and he needed to meet Sal' at the Wall. He decided to continue perusing collars until Brian got his attention again.

Brian nodded, and then ran up to Mrs. Dewitt, who was just about to check out. "Did you find anything else you want here, Brian?" she asked.

"Nah, there's nothing I want here today," Brian replied. "There's this cafe called The Wall I'd like to go to -- would you mind driving me there?"

"Isn't that where that one girl shared her muffin with you?" Mrs. Dewitt asked. "I think you told us about that, and your father and I have been meaning to try it. I'd love to take you there!"

Brian excitedly ran back up to O'Connor. "Mom's going to take me to The Wall!" he shouted. "She just has to pay, and then we can go."

[Teh Brawler]

Brian nodded, and then ran up to Mrs. Dewitt, who was just about to check out. "Did you find anything else you want here, Brian?" she asked.

"Nah, there's nothing I want here today," Brian replied. "There's this cafe called The Wall I'd like to go to -- would you mind driving me there?"

"Isn't that where that one girl shared her muffin with you?" Mrs. Dewitt asked. "I think you told us about that, and your father and I have been meaning to try it. I'd love to take you there!"

Brian excitedly ran back up to O'Connor. "Mom's going to take me to The Wall!" he shouted. "She just has to pay, and then we can go."

"Ah'ruight, ahs long ahs shei doesn't muind anothere passengere."

[mathgrant]

"Oh? What other passenger?" Brian asked. He assumed O'Connor meant himself, but he knew that he was better off being safe than sorry.

[Teh Brawler]

"Oh? What other passenger?" Brian asked. He assumed O'Connor meant himself, but he knew that he was better off being safe than sorry.

O'Connor laughed at the comment. "Meh, Lahd!" He clapped Brian on the back, and smiled at the odd scenario. "Ah meant meh."

[mathgrant]

Brian laughed right along. "I guessed that," he chuckled, "but you know what they say about when you assume: you make an. . ."

"Brian! I'm done!" Mrs. Dewitt said, interrupting Brian. "We can go to The Wall now."

"Can O'Connor get a ride there, too?" Brian said, pointing to the other terrier.

Mrs. Dewitt laughed. "He looks friendly to me. Sure, I'll let him along with us!"

[Teh Brawler]

Brian laughed right along. "I guessed that," he chuckled, "but you know what they say about when you assume: you make an. . ."

"Brian! I'm done!" Mrs. Dewitt said, interrupting Brian. "We can go to The Wall now."

"Can O'Connor get a ride there, too?" Brian said, pointing to the other terrier.

Mrs. Dewitt laughed. "He looks friendly to me. Sure, I'll let him along with us!"

O'Connor smiled, feeling in a good mood, and followed Mrs. Dewitt out to the car. He jumped in the back, fastened himself in, and began to wait. While he was waiting, he began to hope that Sal' wouldn't be waiting too long if she were there by now.